PLANNING REPORTS

AND PROPOSALS
Dick Saligan
ACTW

Creating effective reports and

proposals

Reports are written accounts that objectively

communicate information about some aspect of a
business

Informational reports offer data, facts, feedback,

and other type of information without analysis or
recommendation
Analytical reports offer both information and
analysis, and they can also include recommendation

Proposals are a special category of reports that

combine information delivery and persuasive
communication

Purpose and content of business

reports

Business reports varies widely

In some cases youll follow strict guidelines

In other cases the organization and format will be up
to you

Many business reports will be written for internal

audience

However, if you work for the Big 4 accounting firms,

most of your reports will be to your clients

For risk management purposes and to manage

firms brand name, the Big 4 accounting firms
have strict guidelines and formatting you have to
follow. However, the content is up to you.

Learning objective # 1

Adapt the three-step writing

process to reports and proposals

Reports versus short messages

Creating short messages and reports/proposals will follow
the three-step writing process. However, the key and
obvious difference is the time you have to spend for each
step of the process.

Given the length and

complexity of many
reports, its crucial to
define your purpose
clearly so you dont waste
time with unnecessary
rework.

The three-step writing process

1. Plan
Analyze the
situation

2. Write
Adapt to your
audience

3.
Complete
Revise the
message

Gather information

Produce the
message

Select the right

medium

Proofread the
message

Organize the
information

Compose the
message

Distribute the
message

Defining your purpose

Informational reports often address a predetermined need and must

meet specific audience expectation. Examples are:

Financial statements and annual reports

Compliance with government regulations
Sales or performance summary
Audiences

expect certain information in a certain format

Analytical reports and proposals are almost always written in

response to a perceived problem or a perceived opportunity. Examples
are:

Management letters
Valuation reports
Audiences

may not expect specific information and you may have more leeway on the

formatting
To plan effectively, address the problem or opportunity with a clear statement of
purpose

Problem statements versus purpose

statements
Problem statement

Statement of purpose

Our companys market share

is steadily declining

To explore new ways of promoting

and selling our products and to
recommend the approaches most
likely to stabilize our market share

Our current computer

network lacks sufficient
bandwidth and cannot be
upgraded to meet our future
needs

To analyse various networking

options and to recommend the
system that will best meet our
companys current and future needs

We need 50 million to launch

our new product

To convince investors that our new

business would be a sound
investment so that we can obtain
desired financing

Our current operations are

too decentralized and
expensive

To justify the closing of the Bukidnon

plant and the transfer of Cotabato
operations to a single Mindanao
location in order to save the company

Useful way to phrase your purpose

statement

Begin with an infinitive phrase (to plus a verb). When you choose in
infinitive phrase (such as to inform, to confirm, to analyse, to persuade,
or to recommend), you pin down your general goal in preparing the
report. Consider these examples for information reports:

To update clients on the progress of the research project (progress report)

To develop goals and objectives for the coming year (strategic plan)
To identify customers and explain how the company will serve them
(marketing plan)
To submit monthly sales statistics to management (operating report)
To summarize what occurred at the annual sales conference (personal
activity report)
To explain building access procedures (policy implementation report)
To submit required information to the Securities and Exchange Commission
(compliance report)

Analytical report has a different twist

Statement of purpose for an analytical report often needs to be

more comprehensive than a statement for an information report.
For example, if you are asked to find ways of reducing employee
travel and entertainment (T&E) costs, you might phrase your
statement as follows:

If you have been assigned an informational report instead, you

might state the purpose differently, as follows:

to analyse the T&E budget, evaluate the impact of recent changes

in airfares and hotel costs, and suggest ways to tighten managements
control over T&E expenses.

To summarize the Companys spending on travel and entertainment.

You can see from these two examples how much influence the
purpose statement has on the scope of your report.

Proposals must also be guided by a

clear statement of purpose

Example statements of purpose for proposals:

To secure funding in next years capital budget for a new

computer system in the warehouse (funding proposal)
To get management approval to reorganize the Visayan
salesforce (general project proposal)
To secure 100 million in venture capital funding to
complete design and production of the new line of titanium
mountain bikes (investment proposal as part of a business
plan)
To convince La Salle University to purchase a trial
subscription to our latest database offering (sales
proposal)

Recap on purpose of statement

The more specific your purpose statement, the

more useful it will be as a guide to planning your
report
Always double-check your statement of purpose
with the person who authorized the report

After seeing the purpose written down in black and

white, the authorizer may decide that the report
needs to go in a difference direction!

Once your statement of purpose is confirmed,

youre ready to prepare your work plan

Preparing your work plan

Elements of a formal work plan

Statement of the problem or opportunity

Statement of the purpose and scope of your
investigation
Discussion of tasks to be accomplished
Description of any additional products or activities
that will result from your investigation
Review of project assignments, schedules, and
resource requirements
Plans for following up after delivering the report

Questions and Comments